All We Have Is Time
by antiquiities
Summary: A difficult case to solve, a race against the clock and past back to haunt them, can it help Booth and Brennan, or will it only ruin their partnership completely? Only time will tell, and their time is short.
1. Chapter 1

All We Have Is Time

Summary: A difficult case to solve, a race against the clock and past back to haunt them, can it help Booth and Brennan, or will it only ruin their partnership completely? Only time will tell, and their time is short.

Disclaimer: I have many wonderful thoughts about what the show would be like if I owned the characters. Of course, they are only thoughts.

A/N: Darkness and angst ahoy! But you know me, I love my Booth and Brennan, so despite what you read, they'll get together. But there will be many obstacles before that happens. And probably guns. And you're probably going to hate me, but this fic will feature all our most _favourite_ characters (AKA, David and Russ) plus a new one that you're going to kill me over. But don't worry; they shall be disposed of accordingly. This first chapter is kind of a prologue.

--

Chapter One.

Winter was always fast in coming and slow in leaving. Wintry winds always remained and freezing rain was frequent. The last few weeks of January saw the lowest temperatures of the entire season, the ground every day coated in new snow, the stark white a blanket over the whole of DC.

Usually Brennan was an early riser, out of bed at six and out of the house by seven-thirty. But winter always delayed her normal routine, and she would allow herself to hide beneath her bedspread for a few minutes more, watching snow drift past the gap in her curtains as she worked up enough courage to drag herself out of bed and to her shower. The warm spray heated her all the way through, and she would reluctantly turn it off, dressing quickly and putting on slippers before padding into the kitchen to boil the kettle for coffee.

She'd watch out the window to the streets below and see people on their way to work, bundled in their coats, steaming coffee from the Starbucks down the road clasped in their numbing fingers as they made their way to work.

One particular morning saw her alarm clock fail to wake her. Always a sign the day was going to go wrong.

Her shower spat at her and eventually she gave up, deciding to wait until she got home from the lab to have a proper shower. She searched her cupboards after dressing; sure she had put the coffee granules in there somewhere until she remembered that she had run out the previous morning. She sighed and put some bread in the toaster, going into the bedroom and putting an extra top over the three she already had on while waiting for it to pop. It was uncharacteristically cold that morning, even in her apartment her breath misted slightly in front of her.

It was almost eight by the time she got out of the building and onto the snow-laden street, heading in the direction of coffee. Pulling her jacket tighter around her shoulders, she started walking, thankful of the warmth of the coffee shop when she stepped inside it. She placed her order and checked her watch. She'd still be early to work, she always was, but the time she'd get there wasn't to her liking, she wanted an early start on the preliminary analysis of some new bones that had arrived late the previous night.

She thanked the young woman behind the counter as she grabbed her coffee, sipping it as she walked down the street, continuing on to the Jeffersonian as snow began to float to the ground all around her.

-

Angela thanked God for central heating as she arrived at work and walked in the doors of the lab, noting that Brennan's office was still dark, which meant the anthropologist hadn't turned up yet. For a second she worried, but then checked her watch and saw that she herself was earlier than usual, her faulty heater rousing her from sleep because of its lack of heat-making capabilities. She'd give Brennan ten more minutes before she would wonder where her friend had gotten herself.

Eight-fifteen saw the arrival of Brennan, switching on the light in her office and dropping her jacket on her couch. She sat at her desk and picked up the file that would soon contain information on the newest lot of bones she had received. Standing up again, she headed into the bones room and was greeted by a cheery Angela who asked her what had happened to make her almost half an hour later than she usually was.

"My alarm clock must have broken, I slept in. And I had to go to Starbucks since I ran out of coffee yesterday."

"You know Bren, there's this new thing everyone's talking about. It's called 'shopping' and I hear it can be real handy in no-coffee situations."

"Is that supposed to be a joke? Because people have shopped for goods for over-"

"Yes, Sweetie, it was a joke." Angela gave her friend a slightly exasperated smile before walking away to find a tissue. She was still getting over a winter cold and she was sniffing constantly, something that annoyed the hell out of her friend.

Zach and Hodgins arrived within fifteen minutes of Brennan, arguing and grumbling about the cold and how as soon as the snow graced the streets everyone seemed to forget how to drive.

A cursory examination of the bones revealed nothing remarkable, the person was male, almost eighty years old and had died of bone cancer. Why the bones had ended up without a coffin Brennan didn't know.

She didn't notice as Booth walked into the room and watched her from the doorway.

"Morning, Bones."

She jumped and looked at him, recognition changing her surprise into annoyance.

"Good morning, Booth. You know, you aren't in the army right now; you can actually make noise when you walk into a room. You startled me."

"Never my intention."

"Is there a reason why you're here? I'm assuming we have a case."

"Well as much as I'd like to say we don't, and this is purely a social call, I'd be lying if I did. We do indeed have a new case."

She waited for him to continue, but he only gestured for her to follow him.

She obliged, following him out the door and falling into stride beside him as they walked. She saw nothing on the lab table as they passed it and looked to Booth for an explanation.

"Take this off," he said, pulling at the collar of her lab coat as she stood in front of him.

She looked surprised, but undid the buttons of the coat and didn't protest as Booth pulled it from her shoulders, a shiver of warmth shooting up her spine as his hands brushed her back. He hung the coat on the railing of the stairs and put a hand on Brennan's shoulder to lead her out the door.

"Where exactly is this new case?" she asked, puzzled.

"You'll see."

He led her out the doors and around the back of the Jeffersonian. The ground was covered in snow; the only colour to be seen was the garish yellow of crime scene tape, right in the middle of the grounds.

"Welcome to your new case, right in your backyard."

"Booth, I don't have a backyard."

Booth sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes as they made their way across the hidden grass.

--

A short chapter to kind of set the scene, I guess. I hope you like, I'm still sorting out the plot of it since it's a little hazy, but tell me what you think so far.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I miss Bones (

Chapter Two.

"Call Zach, I need him to take pictures."

The bones were almost yellow against the pure white snow, laid out on the ground in a complete skeleton, from what Brennan could see.

She walked around the edge of the crime scene tape, looking for any sort of clue. Footprints were pointless, even in their current weather people walked through the grounds by the hundred every day. There was nothing that stood out, and Booth voiced her thoughts after watching her progress.

"You think this was planned?"

"You know I don't like to form conclusions without evidence," she said, giving him a reprimanding look through her lashes.

Zach pushed through all the police officers to Brennan and asked for instructions.

"Take them all around the perimeter from a five meter radius, then get under the tape and get close-up shots of the whole skeleton. Then we'll get her inside."

"Her?" Booth asked.

"Yes, female, probably about seventeen or eighteen," Brennan nodded.

Booth shook his head. Only a kid. Probably not even out of high school.

Brennan was in science-mode, calling orders to the people around her. Booth let her be and went to talk to one of the officers standing around.

"Wilson, what happened here?"

"Agent Booth, nice to see you. A couple of kids walking to school stumbled across the bones placed out on the snow, one of them called us, and here we are. Kids have been questioned, they didn't see anyone, they're not being considered suspects, they're barely in middle school."

"So we're relying on Dr Brennan's analysis of the bones to tell us something?" Booth asked.

"Basically, yes," Wilson looked behind him to see another officer calling him, "Excuse me please, Agent Booth."

Booth went back to his partner, who was supervising the skeleton as it was readied for transporting into the lab.

"The skull is cracked, I haven't had a good look at it yet, but it seems to be glued together."

"Why would someone go through all the trouble to put the skeleton back together again?" Booth asked.

"I don't know. We'll have to find out," she brushed past him, her arms crossed as she followed the bones back into the Jeffersonian.

-

Brennan stood bent over the examination table, studying the skull when Booth swiped his card and walked up the stairs. Her brow was creased and her lips were parted, intensely focused on what she was doing.

"Found out anything?"

"The skull was definitely glued back together. From what I can tell, cause of death was blunt force trauma, right here," she pointed to a heavily glued part of the skull, where a few tiny pieces were missing, fragmented by whatever had been smashed against it.

"Anything else?"

"Booth, I've only been working for twenty minutes. Get Angela out here to set up the tissue markers for the skull. I'll get Zach and tell him he can clean the bones. Then I'll be in my office."

Brennan pulled off her gloves and headed off in the direction of her assistant's room.

Booth meandered over to Angela's office and rapped on her open door.

She looked up and smiled. "Hi, Booth. Is Brennan ready for me now?"

"Yeah." He followed her out, not able to do anything until Brennan wrote up her findings so he could take them back to Cullen.

Angela bent over the skull much in the same way Brennan had done before picking it up in her fingers, turning it gently and murmuring to herself. "Definitely Caucasian," she said. She traced the line of one of the cheekbones. Booth watched her. He knew it was so much harder for her because she got closer to the victims than anyone else, drawing their faces. She sighed, putting the skull back down on the table and picking up her sketchpad.

He heard a phone ringing and saw Brennan rush across the lab and into her office to take the call.

"Brennan," her answer was quick and concise.

Booth only heard Brennan's responses, but he quickly deducted she was talking to David.

"So Bones is still going out with Dick431, then?" he murmured to Angela, his gaze still on Brennan's office and the anthropologist now sitting at her desk.

Angela smirked. "Yep."

"I thought they were only 'sometimes'?" Booth tried not to let any of his jealousy show through his words.

Angela noticed. Damn girl picked up everything. "Apparently 'sometimes' has turned into 'actual relationship'."

Booth's heart sank. "Has she slept with him?" He didn't know where the question had come from, but felt better asking it.

Angela smiled sympathetically and put a hand on Booth's arm. "Sweetie, if you want to know, just ask her. She'll tell you what's going on."

He looked at the artist and she let go of his arm.

"She tells you more than she tells me anymore. She turned back to her sketchpad, tapping the end of her pencil on the paper, a small smile on her face.

"Okay, bye David." The click of the phone settling onto its hook accompanied Brennan's goodbye and Booth saw her pick up a file and begin writing something.

Almost immediately, the phone rang again. Brennan frowned and picked up again.

"David if-" she stopped cold, her annoyance turning into a look of shock.

Booth walked cautiously towards the anthropologist's office and she caught his gaze, her eyes wide. With shaky hands that she tried to conceal, she put the phone back down and sat still.

The last time she had looked like that she'd gotten a message from her father.

"Bones? Who was it?" Booth went around the side of his partner's desk and put a hand on her shoulder.

She fumbled for the right words. "I…I don't know. Male, gruff."

"What did they say?"

"Death threats. The new bones."

She wasn't making very much sense. He prodded for more. "He wants you to stop working the case?"

She just nodded. He squeezed her shoulder and felt it relax slightly.

"You know the last time you didn't do that?"

She looked at him, slightly admonishing.

"We're going to be extremely careful with this one. First off, we're going to trace this call. Then we're going to up security around here and your apartment." Catching the look again, he reciprocated it, "Bones, I'm not letting anything happen to you."

She almost rolled her eyes. Then she really remembered what had happened the last time she'd not listened to her partner and stopped.

"Come on, we'll go to the FBI building and see what we can do."

--

The chapters will get longer as we go on; I still have to set everything up. And figure out what's going to happen. I mean, I know _exactly_ what's going to happen…


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So…I'm stumped as to what I'm doing. Let us see what happens.

Chapter Three.

The inside of the warm Hoover building was a welcome relief from the temperature outside. January had hit an atypical low that winter, at least five degrees below normal.

Booth kept Brennan close to him, unnerved by the call she had received, and they headed up to Cullen's office.

"Agent Booth, you weren't supposed to be here for another hour. And why has Dr Brennan accompanied you?" the deputy director asked when they walked in.

"Sir, Dr Brennan recently got a call from someone who was less then happy she was working on the new case from this morning."

Cullen rested his gaze on Brennan. "When did you receive the call?"

"At about ten," she replied after thinking for a second.

"I'll get onto it," Cullen picked up his phone and dialled a number, keeping his gaze fixed on the desk in front of him. He spoke to someone named Fisher about tracing any calls to the Jeffersonian between nine forty-five and ten-fifteen and thanked them before hanging up.

"I'm guessing you're going to work out the rest?" he asked Booth, his tone almost amused.

"Yes, sir."

"This won't affect your status on the current case? You are still required to investigate, even if you are upping security around Dr Brennan and her team."

"No, sir, my work will be unaffected."

Cullen nodded, a sign he wanted them out.

"Come on, Bones," Booth put a hand to his partner's back and steered her out of his boss' office.

"Booth, is this entirely necessary? I've said before that many people would like me to stop doing my job because of what I could find out about them, but I don't quit for them. I don't quit for anyone."

Booth managed a smile. "I know, Bones. But _I've_ said before that I won't let anything happen to you again. I intend to stick by that statement as much as you do yours."

She frowned, not pleased with his reply, but she didn't say anything.

They went into Booth's office and he told her to sit. She grudgingly complied, leaning her elbows on the desk in front of her.

"Stay here while I go and sort some things out. If you want, you can help finish my crossword. I can't figure out eight down." Booth left the room and Brennan thought better of protesting.

He walked down the hall, thinking about what the death threats to his partner meant for her safety. For one, she no longer _was_ safe; death threats didn't usually mean someone was looking where to send the thank you card.

He knocked on a door that would take him into his colleague, Adam Harding's office.

"Harding. I've got a favour to ask."

Harding looked up.

"I need you to increase security around the Jeffersonian Institute, particularly the Medico-Legal lab, and also Dr Brennan's apartment block."

"Any particular reason why, Booth?" Harding asked curiously.

"Dr Brennan has been having a few…problems recently."

"You know I'm not allowed to do this as a personal favour because you're worried about your girlfriend, right?"

"There've been threats because of a case she's currently working on," Booth corrected the first part of Harding's question. "And she's not my girlfriend," he wasn't going to correct the second part, but then he thought of David and a knot twisted in his stomach, so he felt he had to.

Harding raised an eyebrow at him before nodding. "Whatever you say, man."

Booth left the office and went back to his own. Brennan was still sitting in her chair, her pen tapping the crossword puzzle as she thought about an answer.

"Seems like you couldn't figure out more than just eight down. Which was the word 'symphony', by the way," she said as he came in, her eyes only briefly flicking to his from the paper.

"I was never very good at crosswords."

"So why do you attempt them?" she asked, confused as to why he'd want to waste his time.

"So I can have an excuse to ask you for help," he flashed her a winning but entirely insincere smile and sat down opposite her at his desk.

She just shook her head at him.

"I've gotten extra security around the Jeffersonian and your apartment block. If this guy is going to try and take a shot at you, we'll be ready. Now, we have to go and find someone to track him down. You'll have to tell them exactly what happened."

Brennan nodded. "Okay."

They got up, and Brennan dropped the crossword onto the table before walking out the door beside Booth.

-

Ten minutes later, Brennan was sitting opposite a heavyset officer simply known to anyone and everyone as Jim. He could stand to eat a few less donuts so he could tighten his belt, but he had a good sense of humour and was an excellent cop.

"Dr Brennan, I hear you had a little mishap with a caller earlier today. Booth filled me in, but I'll need to get the details from you. About what time did he call? He was a 'he', yeah?"

Brennan nodded. "It was a male voice, he called around ten."

"What were his exact words? Or at least close to."

"He said if I didn't stop working the new case from the Jeffersonian gardens he'd make sure I didn't see it through to the end of it."

Jim took notes onto a pad of paper then gave Brennan a quick smile as he picked up the phone.

When he hung up he looked to Booth, who stood behind the chair Brennan was sitting in, his hands on the back.

"We're getting another agent on this case, and Dr Brennan will be spared from the field as much as possible."

"You're terminating our partnership?" Brennan asked, indignant.

"Not terminating, just…toning down, so to speak. If you aren't needed to examine remains, we'll keep you in the lab."

Brennan was irritated. It still sounded like something just short of termination to her.

She crossed her arms over her chest and Booth noticed her crankiness.

"Cheer up, Bones. As soon as this case is over we can go back to being proper partners again," he squeezed her shoulder and felt the muscles beneath his fingers tense.

"I'll send the new agent to your office within the hour," said Jim, reclining back in his chair.

Booth nodded and patted his partner's shoulder. "You want to go get something to eat, Bones?" he asked, sensing she was still slightly put out.

"Sure." She got up and waited for Booth to walk out the door.

They went down the elevator and out onto the white streets of DC, heading for a well-known restaurant they both headed to almost more frequently than Wong Foo's.

They were seated at a table and Booth watched as Brennan picked up a menu, following suit but not paying the slightest bit of attention to it.

"Booth, its distracting when you stare at me like that."

"I know you're upset about the whole partnership thing, but you know it's safer."

"I don't care that it's safer!" her voice was louder than she intended it to be and several people in the crowded restaurant looked at her. "I don't care," she said in a lower voice, "I want to be out in the field with you." She looked slightly surprised at the profundity of her statement.

Booth smiled. "And we will be, just hold your horses, okay?"

"Is that some sort of figure of speech to tell me to be patient?" she asked.

He nodded. "You're getting better. I just mean that its not permanent, its just one case."

"You weren't this worried about the thing with Kenton," she said.

"Well I didn't know enough then. We've got to cover our bases this time," upon catching the look on her face he stopped, "we've got to be thorough."

She seemed to be content with that answer and turned back to her menu.

A waitress came around shortly after, a pen and notebook in hand.

"And what would you two like to order today?" she asked, her eyes looking first at Booth, then at Brennan. She couldn't have been much older than eighteen, her dark hair piled up into a messy bun and her features delicate.

They placed their orders and the girl, her nametag reading 'Natalie', smiled as she left to give them to the chef.

They fell back into their usual banter, joking about what Booth's new partner would be like. By the time their meals arrived, they had concluded he'd be a one-eyed Texas native who'd wear cowboy boots and baggy jeans to hide his plastic leg. How they'd come up with it neither of them knew. Nor did they know why he'd be able to wrestle snakes. Neither of them really cared, they were just enjoying each other's company, though Booth's mind couldn't help but wonder whether he was violating some dating code by taking Brennan out to lunch when she was seeing David, not him.

When they had finished, Brennan didn't protest when Booth payed the bill, and they left to go back to their respective jobs.

"I'll drop you at the lab, then I'll come back and check out this Texan snake-wrestler, okay?"

Brennan couldn't help the smile that crept over her face when she thought about it. They went back to the FBI building and got into Booth's SUV, heading back through the slippery roads to the Jeffersonian.

She waved goodbye after getting out of the car and headed inside the building, though Booth didn't leave until she was out of sight. He wasn't taking any chances. After seeing her disappear, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed back along the streets that would take him to his new partner.

He knew even if they did wrestle snakes or possibly have a Texan accent, or even be unbelievably witty and smart, he'd still have Brennan any day.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So I've finally figured what's going on. That was lucky. And I apologise profusely for not updating in a about a bazillion years, I've been preoccupied and then they stole my computer.

Chapter Four.

Booth stopped cold when he walked into his office. A woman sat in the chair Brennan had previously occupied earlier that day, her blonde hair tied tightly in a bun at the back of her head. She turned and got up when she saw him, the clothes she was wearing practically screaming at him that she was looking for a man to sink her claws into, the neckline low and the skirt short.

"Agent Seeley Booth?" she asked. Well, she wasn't a Texan. Nor did she look like she wrestled snakes, but then, one never knew. Booth suddenly had the urge to ask.

"That's me," he walked around her to his desk, and her eyes followed him. Hazel.

"Agent Drew Carter. I've been assigned to work on the Jeffersonian gardens case with you," she gave him a hundred-watt smile.

He returned it. "Its nice to meet you. I haven't seen you around, are you a new agent?"

Drew nodded.

"Where are you from?"

"Me? I'm a Minnesota local; my hometown is Rochester. I only moved here about a month ago."

As far as Booth knew, they didn't wrestle snakes in Minnesota. Rode horses and walked through forests maybe, although he didn't think he knew _anywhere_ that wrestled snakes. Perhaps he'd been spending too much time around Brennan. He was starting to think rationally.

"Minnesota, huh? I hear it's nice there." He didn't really know, never having been before, but he figured that was what you said to people when they told you about their hometowns.

"Oh, it is."

There was an awkward silence before Drew started her own line of questioning.

"So you work with a world renowned forensic anthropologist? What's that like?"

He knew what she was doing. Many of the women who he had worked with while being in a partnership with Brennan had asked the same type of question. She was fishing for information on their personal relationship.

"Working with Bones? Well, overall I'd have to say pretty…interesting."

Drew had raised an eyebrow at his use of Brennan's nickname, but didn't say anything.

He tried to fix it. This woman was attractive, and since Brennan was officially off limits, he might as well try his luck. "Bones is a nickname. She hates it so I use it to annoy her," he hoped it sounded plausible and not like he was desperate for her to like him. It wasn't high school; he didn't need to do that anymore.

"Will we be going to see this 'Bones'?" she asked, curious.

"Oh, yeah. I'll take you down to the Jeffersonian to meet her and get you up to speed on the case so far. Did you want to go now?"

"Sure."

-

"Are you okay?" Angela asked, following Brennan into her office. "You've been gone for a while and you look kinda crestfallen. What happened?"

Brennan sat at her desk and absentmindedly arranged papers into a pile. "They took me off field work."

"What?"

"Because of the danger or something. Booth is going to meet his new partner as we speak."

"But it's only temporary, right?" Angela asked, almost as surprised as Brennan had been.

"Ange, you know Cullen. He doesn't like me and has been trying to get me away from the field since I starting working with the FBI. Isn't this pretty much the perfect excuse to find a way to keep me in the lab for good?" Brennan asked sadly, thinking about the idea she had thought of during lunch with Booth.

"Oh, Bren," Angela sighed. "I know how much you love being out working with Booth on cases, but you know my opinion. After everything that's happened, I'd be happier if you were in the lab. I know where you are and that you aren't in danger." Catching the look on her friend's face, she continued, sighing again, "but then I also know that Booth wouldn't let a thing happen to you if he could help it, so I guess what I'm saying is I'm sorry the case is working out like this for you."

Brennan managed to smile at Angela, sitting opposite her. "Thank you for your support, Ange. Now I should really go and work on these bones some more." She got up and let her hand brush over her friend's shoulder in thanks.

Brennan didn't notice Booth and Agent Carter when they arrived, and a look of surprise crossed her face when she straightened from examining the newly-cleaned bones.

"Bones, this is Agent Drew Carter, she's my new partner for this case. Agent Carter, this is Dr Temperance Brennan."

Drew stuck out a well-manicured hand and Brennan shook it tentatively, not sure what to make of the woman standing in front of her. Booth looked kind of like he didn't know whether he find her attractive or find her slightly terrifying.

"Well, Agent Carter, I can get you and Booth up to speed on this case, if you'd like."

"Please, call me Drew," she said, another smile flashed in Brennan's direction.

Brennan gave a small nod and attempted to smile back, though it felt more like a grimace. "Well, as Booth knows, the victim was female, around seventeen or eighteen, blunt-force trauma to the skull was cause of death. I've since found out that the victim was tied at some point before her death, the wrists and ankles show considerable damage, meaning she was tied either very tightly, or for a long time."

"No more calls then?" asked Booth, concern etched on his features.

"Not so far."

"Cullen said he's screening any and all calls to the Jeffersonian and your apartment as of ten minutes ago," said Booth. Brennan nodded and seemed at a loss for anything to say.

"Um, Drew, can I excuse Dr Brennan and myself for a second?"

"Of course."

Booth gestured to Brennan and she followed him off the platform and into her office where he shut the door.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seemed kind of distant out there."

"I'm fine, Booth. I don't need you checking up on me every five minutes."

"I know that, Bones. I just want to make sure you're safe."

"And _I_ know _that_." Her voice was slightly snappier than she intended it to be.

"Hey, Bones. Calm down a little."

"Look, I can't help that I have to do my job. You can't help that you have to protect me while you do it. I get it. There's nothing more to talk about."

Booth knew she was being short with him for reasons other than just that. He had an idea what one was, but that couldn't be the entire problem.

"I think there is. You don't snap at me unless something's got you in a knot."

Brennan gave him her 'I don't know what that means' face.

"You're annoyed about something other than just me," he clarified.

Brennan sighed. "Cullen isn't going to let me back out into the field, is he?" she asked quietly. "He's been wanting an excuse to have me out since I started working with you." She repeated her earlier qualms.

"Of course he will." Booth actually didn't know, but he had to say something to reassure her.

"You don't know that. I've told you before, I don't think he likes me."

"He likes you fine. Especially after what you did for Amy."

Brennan didn't look convinced, just slightly irritated. "We should probably get back out to your new friend. I have to say I'm disappointed, Booth. Are you sure you didn't pick up the wrong agent? She doesn't seem the one-eyed snake wrestling type."

He grinned at her and shook his head. Though he could definitely see a hint of something in her eyes that could have been jealousy.

They walked out of her office and back onto the platform, where both Hodgins and Zach were entertaining Drew.

They backed off when Booth arrived, though, Drew having obviously told them her position. Either that or they thought they were dating.

"Dr Brennan," Zach said, a file appearing from behind his back, "the victim's dental records."

Brennan took the file from Zach's outstretched hand and her eyes settled on a name. "Maggie Reeds. Seventeen years old."

"I'll get Cullen onto it." Booth almost found himself asking whether Brennan wanted to go with him to tell the parents, but caught himself in time. The last thing he wanted to do was get on his partner- Bones' bad side.

"I guess we'll be going to tell the parents soon, then?" Drew asked Booth.

He noted the slightly downcast expression on Brennan's face as she handed the file silently to Booth and made her way past him and Drew, muttering a quiet 'excuse me' as she headed back into her office.

Booth watched her go, saddened by how dejected she looked.

"We should go," he said to Drew, who nodded her approval. "I just have to ask Angela something, wait here," Booth had noticed Angela moving around in her own office and went over, knocking on the door before hearing Angela telling him to open it and come in.

"Hey, Angela. Quick request. Can you get Brennan to stay at your place tonight? Or at least go over to hers? I don't want her alone but I don't think she really wants me there."

"Of course, Sweetie."

"Thanks," he smiled and she reciprocated as he turned and walked back out the door, shutting it behind him.

He stopped outside the door of Brennan's office and debated getting hit by her wrath by going in. He decided to risk it.

"Hey, Bones? I'm off now."

Brennan glanced up, the dejected look still in her eyes as she gazed at him. "Okay. Have a good time with Drew," she said curtly, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Sharp, Bones. Sharp words. You know she's only my partner temporarily."

Brennan huffed, still miffed and saddened no matter what Booth said. Booth tried to think of something to cheer her up. Kissing her on the cheek seemed a nice idea to him, he imagined Brennan relaxing beneath him and taking it further, her lips brushing his as she sat in her chair, her hands twining around his neck to bring him closer…

Whoa.

Okay, no.

He couldn't do anything, though he wanted to. What Cullen said went without questioning and there was nothing he could do about it. He'd just have to let go of his partner like she had to let go of him. He said the only thing he could.

"I'm sorry, Bones." He turned and walked out the door, leaving his partner behind, in more than one sense of the word.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Ahh! It's been so long I've almost forgotten everything to do with this fic! The first part of this chapter is another product of my late night writing sessions, and you know how terrible I am at proof-reading, so I apologize for any mistakes or if it doesn't make sense.

As soon as Booth left, Brennan tried to get back to work. But for once, even she couldn't concentrate.

"Ange, I'm going home for the rest of the day."

Angela was surprised to see her friend in the doorway, and even more surprised at what she had just said.

"Um, okay, sweetie. Whatever you need, you've done enough for today anyway, as usual. Do you want me to come round later and we can order pizza or something?"

"Sure," she could actually do with the company, for once. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, turning out of Angela's doorway and heading back to her office to grab her things.

The artist was slightly worried. It seemed that the temporary termination of her and Booth's partnership had upset her a lot more than she had originally thought.

Brennan drove back to her apartment in an almost trance. Dumping her clothes on her couch, she headed into her bedroom and changed into sweatpants and a sweatshirt, pulling on running shoes and heading straight back out her door again.

She breathed a sigh of relief once she was out on the sidewalk. The cold air almost burned her lungs, but she fell into a steady rhythm as she heard her shoes fall one after the other on the path as she broke into a jog.

Her thoughts were always clear when she was running. They wandered a lot, but she could clarify things easier.

Her first thoughts ran to Booth. Not surprising.

_He has never been _just_ a partner. You may be dense when it comes to people, Brennan, but you know that much. Why does this temporarily-not-partners thing bother you so much?_

She liked being out in the field.

_With Booth. You like him._

She did _not_. At least not in _that_ way.

_You, Brennan, are attracted to that man. Why is it so hard to comprehend? The chemistry and tension has been there from the start._

She was with David; there was no room for feelings for other people. David was serious about her, and she felt serious about him. Well, she hoped she did.

It had started to rain, or possibly snow, Brennan couldn't quite tell, but whatever it was, it was heavy. She ducked under a canopy of a café and caught her breath. And her thoughts.

So maybe thinking wasn't the best idea. She was starting to admit things she didn't even know she wanted to admit.

She sat down at one of the tables and decided that today just wasn't her day. And now it was snowing. Or possibly sleeting.

She checked her watch. It was later than she had thought. Braving whatever was falling from the sky, she ran back along the sidewalk, retracing her steps and her thoughts, much to her distaste.

-

"Mr. and Mrs. Reeds?"

"Yes, we're Evan and Cynthia Reeds, what can we do you for?" the couple standing in the doorway were older than Booth had expected, and looked haggard, like they had had too many sleepless nights. Though, Booth reasoned, they probably had, with the disappearance of their daughter.

"Special Agent Seeley Booth. We, Agent Carter and I, need to speak with you about some things."

"This is about Maggie, isn't it?" asked the girl's mother, her hand going to her necklace, toying with the silver links of the chain.

"Um, yes, ma'am, it is."

"We have some bad news," Drew cut in, albeit politely.

"Come in," Mr. Reeds gestured into the house, leading the way into the living room. The whole house was darkened, it was seeped in sadness, an emptiness that Booth knew came from the parents' loss of their daughter. He imagined this house had been alive at some point, the colours on the walls weren't supposed to have fallen into shadow, but because of this unfortunate occurrence all the happiness was gone from them and all that was left was sorrow.

"Tell us what happened to our daughter. Where is she?" Mrs. Reeds begged for answers, her eyes shining with tears that had been dreading this day ever since Maggie had gone missing.

"Mrs. Reeds, I believe that your daughter went missing on the fifteenth of September last year?" Booth confirmed. Cynthia nodded, staring at her hands that were clasped in her lap. "We found her remains this morning behind the Jeffersonian Institute." He said it quietly, knowing his words would be cutting into the two people's hearts and validating their worst fears.

"She's dead? My Maggie is dead?" Mrs. Reeds bit her lip, her eyes closing. She shook her head, as if it would make it all go away, and she could wake up from the terrible dream she was trapped inside of.

"We're very sorry for your loss," Booth knew that this was an empty consolation, even though it was sincere.

"We need to ask you some questions, if it isn't too much trouble," Drew said, her gaze flicking from Evan to Cynthia.

"We'll answer your questions," Mr. Reeds said quietly.

"Did Maggie ever say anything about anyone troubling her? Was she involved in any kind of relationship that could possibly have been abusive?"

"She had a boyfriend, but he wasn't one of those types. He was a quiet boy, we approved of him. She never said anything about being troubled by anyone."

"What was the boyfriend's name?"

"Richard Mann. He lives a few blocks over from here."

"You don't think any of Maggie's friends would try and hurt her? She didn't hang out with anyone that seemed strange to you?" Drew asked.

"All Maggie's friends were nice; none of them seemed the shady type. Maggie didn't go out much anyway."

"Okay. Well, we'll just need to get some personal details off you, where she went to school, things like that, then we'll leave you."

"Tell me, Agent Booth, when can I have my daughter back? When can I bury her?" Mrs. Reeds asked.

"At this time, it's up to our anthropologist to decide. I'll let you know as soon as she makes that decision."

Mrs. Reeds nodded and bit her lip again.

Later, when the two agents walked down the steps and out onto the snowy sidewalk Drew sighed.

"Things like this are so terrible. No parent should have to bury their child."

"Well, unfortunately it's our line of work, we just have to deal."

"You want to go get a drink?" Drew changed the subject.

Booth checked his watch. It was later than he had thought.

"Sure."

-

The knock at Brennan's door startled her.

"Sweetie, I've got pizza and popcorn and campy movies that I'd never think to watch with anyone but you," Angela said as her friend opened the door.

Brennan could see that. She could barely see Angela behind it all, though.

As usual, the artist didn't wait for an invitation and Brennan jumped out of the way as she went through the doorway and deposited everything on the coffee table.

Then she deposited herself on the couch.

"You're watching the news? Surely there are better things to do than that. You should go online more. And not for Googling things you don't understand. For…entertainment purposes, it'd do you good."

"Ange, are you suggesting I should look up internet pornography?"

"What?" Angela was slightly taken aback. "Um, I was more meaning illegal downloading of music and television shows, but um, if that's what you want to do don't let me stop you."

Brennan rolled her eyes and sat down next to her friend on the couch.

"So, which movie first?" Angela picked up the three DVDs she had brought with her, and attempted to hold them all up at the same time.

"Whichever one you want," Brennan replied, not really caring.

Angela looked at them herself, then picked one and got up to put it in the DVD player. She was extremely glad she and Booth had forced it and the TV upon the anthropologist at Christmas, Brennan was bad enough with pop culture already, she didn't need to make it worse without a TV.

She just hoped that Booth didn't try to reclaim it, because she was not paying for anything that got smashed with badly-aimed baseball bats.

Brennan was quiet the whole movie, and she didn't eat a lot. She seemed lost in her thoughts, and as much as Angela wanted to ask what was wrong, she didn't want to press the issue for fear of Brennan closing up and refusing to say anything.

The evening passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was almost midnight and Brennan was up finding blankets for Angela to use so that she could sleep on the couch.

She said a quiet goodnight to the artist and disappeared into her bedroom, barely remembering to turn the kitchen lights off as she went.

Angela made a note to talk to Booth about her, because there was clearly something wrong. She wasn't acting like Brennan.

And that was scary.

--

I'm not going to lie to you; there was no reason as to why I forgot about this fanfic, it just got pushed to the background when I started writing some House stuff. But the new season has spurred me on and this is what I got. I'm afraid the first half is kind of stupid, but I can't be bothered changing it. I'm a lazy ass. Tell me what you think anyway.

And yeah – new penname, because I was of the bored with the other one, and since it's like, a default username for me it'll be easier to remember. And its fun!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm not even going to pretend. Yes, I am Queen of the Slackers. I present you with Chapter 6.

"Booth?"

"Oh, hey Angela. What're you doing here?" Booth was surprised to see the artist standing in his doorway.

"Um, I came…um, I need to talk to you. To tell you something."

Angela looked worried, her voice tentative, the crease in her forehead telling her thoughts.

"Oh, of course. Um, sit down." He closed the file he was looking through and fixed his gaze on Angela as she took the seat in front of his desk.

"It's not about me, if that's what you're thinking," she said, looking at him. She glanced down at the jacket in her lap and then back up again. "I'm worried about Brennan. Like, really worried."

Booth sighed audibly and leaned back in his seat, straightening his tie.

"She's not acting like Brennan," Angela shuffled forward on her seat and leaned her elbows on the table, clasping her hands together, Booth could see her thinking about the words she was going to say before she said them, treading carefully yet still being tactfully blunt, as only Angela could pull off, "You know as well as I do what this partnership really means to her. And what it means to you, whether you choose to admit it or not."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Look, Angela, You know I have no control over what the FBI does with Brennan, they could ship her off to China with Agent Cooper in the next office and I wouldn't have a say in it."

Angela sighed, loudly, irritated that she wasn't getting through. "I think you've been hanging around with her too much, her dense side is rubbing off on you."

He was put out. He wasn't dense.

She shuffled in her seat again, placing her hands on the desk between them. "I know you went out with Drew last night."

"Where did this come from?" he asked indignantly.

"I'm getting to my point. And don't deny it. The girl may be a good agent but she has the mouth of my mother."

Booth guessed what that meant. And he had to admit that Drew hadn't really stopped talking the whole night before, and even though he may not be entirely suave with women, he certainly knew when he was being hit on. He hoped Angela didn't know he'd agreed to go out with her again.

"And I know you're going out with her again."

Damn Angela. And not to mention Drew, who had probably been the one to tell her.

"Brennan is going to be hurt."

"She'd probably just spout something sci-"

"And you should know better than almost anyone what that means." Angela muttered something under her breath and sighed again, turning the ring on her thumb in circles, "Look, I'm going to spell it out for you, since you don't seem to be getting the message. Brennan's fallen for you. Hard. I don't even need to pry it out of her. Every time she looks at you, every time you put your hand on her shoulder, every time you say something to her. Sweetie, even _Zack_ was asking her questions."

Booth looked at his hands, splaying his fingers out. Angela watched him, a tiny smile on her face.

"You don't need to say anything. It's none of my business what you do with your life, I just thought you should know."

She got up, slinging her bag over her shoulder and went out the door, closing it softly behind her. Once outside, she sighed heavily and hoped to whatever God she believed in that Booth wouldn't fuck this up.

-

Swiping his card, Booth walked up onto the platform with a grim expression.

"We've got another body."

-

"North Carolina?"

"North Carolina."

"But how do you know it was the same killer?" Brennan asked; taking the depressingly thin file Booth handed her.

He almost forgot to answer her, thinking about what Angela had said earlier and about how even though he had been announcing a rift in their case, she still had a smile curling at the edge of her lips when he'd addressed her.

"Same cause of death, bound before demise, found in Brightleaf Square, another extremely conspicuous place."

"You think it's a serial killer?" she asked, looking up.

"I think it's a serial killer."

"Could you just answer me with a yes or no instead of repeating everything I say? It gets irksome."

He grinned impishly at her and could see her fighting back a smile. "When am I ever irksome?"

His spirits were slightly uplifted. She still wasn't saying much, but at least she was slightly more talkative than she had been, and she'd got a bit of her old spark back.

"We'll be there for a while."

"Be there?" asked Brennan.

Booth ignored her. "We'll want all the squints. I'll have to organize it with Cullen."

"All the s- everyone?"

Then it dawned on her.

"We're going to North Carolina?"

"We're going to North Carolina."

-

Booth whistled as he walked towards Brennan's office later that day, but stopped as he heard her voice, sounding strained and slightly ticked off.

"Yes, with Booth."

There was a pause, and Booth realized she was talking on the phone. He stood silently outside her door, not wanting to interrupt.

"I don't know how long for, a week at the minimum."

Another pause.

"No, I'm not going to avoid you, I'm sorry about canceling our last dinners, but my job is important to me."

Booth guessed she was talking to David. Either that or it was some secret boyfriend that both he and David didn't know about. He didn't like either guess.

"No, not more important than you. Look, I have to go, Booth is taking me-"

When he heard the click of the phone being put back on its hook, Booth took it as his cue to interrupt.

"Ready to go, Bones?" he asked, watching her face carefully. She looked slightly confused, he imagined it was because she couldn't understand why her hanging around him annoyed David so much, and why her career should suffer because she was in a relationship. She didn't get that to David, her relationship with her bones was stronger than any other she had.

"Yeah."

She grabbed her coat, and shrugging it on she led the way out the door, Booth following behind her, surprised at her pace as they made their way out to his SUV, Brennan completely disregarding the security guard standing at the door as he jumped out of her way.

"Whoa, Bones, what's with the speed?" he asked as he finally caught up to her. She didn't say anything for a second, and the beep of the SUV unlocking was loud in the silent car park. Brennan folded her arms over her chest and looked out over the streets blanketed in snow, the breeze sending flyway hairs over her face, marring her vision.

"Booth?" she turned her head towards him as leaned on the side of the vehicle.

"Yes, Bones?"

"If I was in a relationship with someone, would I be required to sacrifice major parts of my career, something that's very important to me, so that my partner is my first priority all the time?" her voice was detached, as if this were a hypothetical situation.

"No."

It was just one word, with hardly a pause between the last word of her question and it.

It got a smile from her though.

"Any reason why you wanted to know?" he asked, even though he already knew why she'd asked.

"Just for reference."

He grinned at her and she smiled back, before opening the door of the SUV.

"So, travel agency?"

--

RAHH. I'm done. I don't even know what's going on, but I'm glad the plot is making a little progress, finally.

Also, just so you know, I'm doing NaNoWriMo, so you probably won't see anything from me for about a month, unless I end up posting something because I need a break. Toodles.


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